Dawn R. Deem Stephens

As I was working with our Bible Study this past week, I thought about our students.

In 1 Samuel 16:1-13, I read about the prophet Samuel anointing David.

Several things stuck out to me as I read these verses.

1. The first was that the anointing seemed to be more for Samuel’s sake then David’s. In verse one, God tells Samuel to stop mourning over Saul and go anoint a new king. God always had the plan and was never worried over what was taking place with Saul. Samuel was the one who was distraught about the current leadership situation.

2. The second was the time table that God was working with. God gave Samuel a plan to go anoint a new king, and when he arrives at the home of Jesse, both he and Jesse assume it is going to be one of the sons who are older and ready to take over the kingdom immediately. But they were not thinking on God’s time table. God’s choice is the boy, David. David will be anointed in this chapter and will not actually be king for another 22 years.

3. The third was that David was selected based on his heart.

These points made me consider our Central Christian Academy students and how God already knows what their lives will be twenty-two years from today. He is at work choosing them for the tasks and needs we have today. The choices He makes are based on their hearts. I thought about what we can do to help keep their hearts pure and ready to serve God.

This week’s lesson is going to look at the characteristics of David’s heart that made it one that God would consider worthy of His choice. I’ve been preparing the lesson and considering not just my own heart, but those of the CCA students. We have a responsibility as teachers and parents to prepare our students for the calling God has on their life.

 Tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday evening, we’ll look at five of those characteristics.

This week in our Jonah Bible study we learned how God gives us second chances. (by Priscilla Shirer)

               The past week of daily studies we took a close look at what must have been going on in the heads of the men on the boat with Jonah.  I still haven’t gotten over the idea that God used Jonah’s disobedience to bring the men on the boat to a knowledge and understanding of who He is. It is wonderful how His objective is always the same and I’m so thankful that He can use our circumstances even when we aren’t willing to be used ourselves. Other than using the circumstances to change the men on the boat, He also uses them to change Jonah’s heart too. After all, these guys were Gentiles and now Jonah is willing to be thrown overboard to save them. Somehow Jonah became sensitive toward people, the same Jonah that said no to God about going to Nineveh to help the people there.

               In the video this week, we learn about second chances. And considering that the big fish vomits Jonah back up on the land near Joppa is something I never really thought of before. He could have taken him closer to Nineveh …. But, instead, Jonah ends up right back where he started. God’s command is given to him a second time and is the same, but we get to compare the two times God tells Jonah exactly what to do. Verses 1:2 and 3:2. When you read these two verses you’ll see the difference. The second time around God builds on the faith that Jonah gained in his experience in the belly of the fish.

               I’m so glad that the times God has told me to do something and I’ve ignored Him that He doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He just begins to work on me through my stubbornness and experiences to get me ready to say “yes”.

               He is a God of second chances! (And even 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th, or as many as we require!)

If you missed today or any other week of our study, I challenge you to jump in next Tuesday at 3:30 with us at CCA. It is amazing to study God’s word together and see all that He does to speak to us individually and as a group! Consider this a second chance to come and get involved with us. – We’d love to have you there.

This coming Tuesday (March 29), I will begin leading the Bible study by Priscilla Shirer titled, Jonah, Navigating a Life Interrupted.

I was searching for a new study to do with our moms and teachers and a friend recommended this one to me.  I first wondered if God had more for me to gain from the very familiar story of Jonah. Then I realized that I am definitely living an interrupted life.

To be perfectly honest with each of you, it is one area I still struggle with when I get alone with God. That is because CCA and becoming the principal there is an interruption to where I thought my life was headed as an author.  I’ve had to make huge sacrifices with my own life goals and plans to successfully do the job at CCA. I knew that going into it. However, it is still a stronghold that Satan likes to work on in my life when I get discouraged with the many pressures of my job. I have learned just in the first few days of the study that being principal at CCA is not an “interruption” to God’s plan for my life but a “divine intervention”.   

I am very excited to work through this study with the teachers and parents at our school. I know God has a lot more to tell me.

We will meet each Tuesday in Room 26 at 3:30

Central Christian Academy

1200 Hodges Ferry Rd

Portsmouth, VA 23701

The schedule will be as follows.

March 29 – Session 1

April 5 – Session 2

April 12 – Session 3

…(Easter Break)

April 26 – Session 4

May 3 – Session 5

May 10 – Session 6

May 17 – Session 7 and Review

I hope you can join us.

I’m still spending time with God in Luke and this morning was in Chapter 5.  Earlier in the week I shared about being sure of something and that I was contemplating a huge job change. If you missed that post click here. My message that day was pretty clear from God, that I shouldn’t doubt and that I should just shut up and listen to Him.  Inside my heart I’m pretty confident in what my decision needs to be.

However, this last week a few of my circumstances changed. Leaving behind what you are currently doing to move on to something else is easy when what you are doing isn’t really working. Most of us choose to follow God because we think following Him will be better than our current circumstances. This week, though, I had meetings concerning the future opportunities that made what I am walking into look pretty gloomy and things happen in my existing situation that made where I am look way more attractive. For one thing I was given a raise at what I am currently doing, making the new job opportunity a lot less needed in my life. I began to see a lot of the benefits to staying where I am and continuing down the path I am currently on until this morning’s “talk” with God in Luke 5:1-11. (Before I go any further, you should read it for yourself.)

I noticed something new this time as I read those verses. It’s a pretty simple thing, but I’ve never noticed it before. Simon is a fisherman and that is what he does to provide for his family. He very willingly leaves everything behind to follow Jesus. (That’s not he new thing I saw.)  It was that this all took place the moment after Jesus just gave Simon the biggest catch he had ever gotten!  Jesus had just asked Simon to throw his nets into the water and he did it reluctantly.  He then caught so many fish that he needed help from the other boat and the amount that filled both vessels made them begin to sink.

Here is what I realized today. They pulled the boats up on shore and then “left everything”. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to first sell off this huge catch? Besides that, this has to be the most successful moment of Simon’s career. He just made the biggest catch he ever made. However, he walks away from it. Jesus and Simon are both completely unconcerned with what he was currently doing for a living. They leave to begin investing into the lives of others. Simon walks away to become, “a fisher of men”.

OK, you may have got that concept before, but for me, – I had to realize that just because where I am standing today is being blessed by God, it doesn’t mean that His call to follow Him into this new venture tomorrow has changed. He expects me to be able to LEAVE EVERYTHING behind. – Even when it’s all going pretty awesomely.

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trust God

This book will help you see if you are trusting God.  To live a life where we completely and totally trust God can be a Christian’s greatest challenge. Sheila illustrates what that life should be through personal examples and stories of different characters in the Bible.

Reading this book made me feel as though I’m was sitting in a coffee shop with Sheila having a face to face discussion. It was as if she knew what I was thinking as I read each page and then answered me on the next. As I read each chapter, I found every bit of it relevant to the situation I faced at on that day.  The examples she gave of the different Bible characters really made me think. I had studied all their stories before, but reading them in this context and evaluating their level of trust with Sheila was a whole new experience for me. This is a book I won’t soon forget and will go back to read again and again. I think trusting is something we struggle with more than we realize. Our society has taught us not to trust.  But this book helps us learn the importance of trusting God with everything. I highly recommend it you read it too.

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through their Booksneeze program.

(My reflections after doing weeks 4 and 5 of the Breaking Free Bible Study by Beth Moore)


We have now finished the 4th and 5th week of our study.  The following is what I gained and how I’ve grown. I’m posting my thoughts here, simply to encourage you to do the same.

Week 4 is about rebuilding the Ancient Ruins

During this week Beth Moore led us into an depth look back at our ancestors and family. For me, it was a tough week. I realized how disconnected from my family I’ve become. On the first day where she asked us to describe our grandparents and parents – I didn’t have much to write. My mom died when I was only 19, so what I know and remember of her was pretty brief. My grandparents on both side of my parents were very old and I never really saw them too much. My dad is still living but our relationship has grown farther apart as the years have passed. I was able to see how the lack of relationship has affected my relationship with m heavenly father as well. The overall theme for the week really taught me to take the good and leave the bad. I was able to evaluate how certain traits my family has have caused me to struggle in m relationship with God – and I also saw how many traits have caused me to remain faithful to Him throughout life.

Week 5 is about Bindinig up the Brokenhearted

During this week, we covered different reasons that your heart could be broken. -From childhood, betrayal, and loss. Through the study this week I’ve been able to discover that the times my heart has been broken, I’ve had opportunities to know God more completely. A broken heart can lead to captivity because it is so easy to loose our faith when we are brokenhearted. We can become a slave to the disbelief that enters us. The very thing that breaks our hearts, however, can lead us to a deeper fellowship with God. Just as a friendship grows when two people experience tragedy together – I can honestly say that the tough stuff I’ve been through has made me closer to Christ and I am thankful to know Him more intimately through the pain I’ve experienced.

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To read my thoughts on week three – click here

To read my thoughts on week two - click here

To read my thoughts on week one – click here

I’ve been so blessed to marry someone who shares my faith in Christ. I’ve met plenty of woman, however, that have either gotten saved after they got married or fell in love with a non-christian and became unequally yoked. I’ve prayed and cried with them all over finding ways to witness to their husbands. A huge benefit of being an author, is that you meet other  authors with their own mission and stories of greatness. Deborah McCarragher is one of those authors. I am doing our fruit bearing blog about her today. Her book will help many woman with the possible mission that seems impossible at times!

Deborah began her journey of creative writing soon after coming to know Jesus as her personal savior in 1989.  She uses her spiritual gifts of encouragement and teaching in her home church.  She also enjoys in-depth bible study in her personal time, and is a small business owner of over twenty years.  Her love of the Holy scripture and bible study are evident in her poetry and literary works.  She and her husband attend Hibernia Baptist Church in Green Cove Springs, and reside in Fleming Island, Florida.  Her primary goal is to share her personal testimony with others while bringing hope and practical help through her books.

Intro

Mission Possible is a unique book in the Christian marketplace.  It addresses a subject that is often overlooked and misunderstood.  It is a candid look at my struggles and quest to reach my husband for Christ.  I became a believer seven years into our marriage.  It is written as I have lived it, and applies scripture and biblical context to each chapter.   The book has bible study application questions at the end of each section, as well as three self-reflection points to help the reader “digest” what they have read.  Mission Possible was nominated for Christian Small Publisher’s Assoc. Book of the Year Award for 2009.

Mini-Interview

Tell us a little about your background.

I grew up in a Navy family and moved frequently as a child.  I married my first husband right out of high school.  That marriage ended in divorce four years later. I remarried in 1982 (to my current husband) and we’ll be married 28 years in January 2010.  Seven years into our marriage, I gave my life to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

What inspired you to write this influential book?

I was involved with a local intercessory prayer group at the time, and was prompted by God during prayer to write down what He was conveying to me about my husband and his salvation.  It was quite literally written while inspired, and without much effort on my part.  I just typed on the computer as He led me to bible verses and topics to talk about.  I remember writing down the names of the (7) chapters during prayer time on a tablet – just looking at them afterwards in awe.  It was quite a moving experience.

What primary advice do you have for women who are married to “non-believing” husbands?

I think the most important advice is to have faith in Who God Is and His sovereignty.  We can’t “pre-package” our spouse’s conversion experience, and God will always do what will bring Him the “most glory”.  We also have to remember that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood.  Our spouse (if unsaved) isn’t governed by God’s Spirit – so we have to release them from that accountability.  We must have faith that rests in God and not in our own understanding, or by sight!

What kinds of reactions has the book generated thus far?

I have had great reaction to my little book.  Some women love it because it is not lengthy, and they can read it quickly - yet refer back to it over & over again.  One woman emailed me a testimony that she was nearly ready to leave her husband, but after reading the book, felt that God was leading her to give her marriage another try.  That was very humbling and gratifying for me.  I just want to help women see that there is an alternative to being miserable in an unequally yoked marriage.

What’s the main message that you’d like readers to take away from it?

I would love readers to discover that God has a plan for each marriage that is in spiritual disunity.  It involves us, but it is always done HIS WAY!  I want readers to know that it is a process that evolves over time, that we must not put Him (God) in a box, but give Him room to move in our spouse’s life.  They need to know that because we are not perfect and continue to sin, that satan will harass us (women) and try to influence us to believe that our “mission” is not possible – but with God, all things are possible!

Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Just that I know how difficult it is to be married to a spouse who doesn’t share your love and devotion to the Lord Jesus.  I, like many of my readers, get frustrated and disillusioned, but I know God has perfect timing and our best interests at heart overall.  He wants our spouses to come to a saving knowledge of Him and embrace a future together that brings glory to Him.

How can our readers learn more about you and contact you directly?

They can visit my website at www.Godmissionpossible.com or email me at deb@alabasterboxpublishing.com They can also visit my Blog page at www.Godmissionpossible.blogspot.com.

(My reflections after doing week 2 of the Breaking Free Bible Study by Beth Moore)

We have now finished the 2nd week of our study.  The following is what I gained and how I’ve grown. I’m posting my thoughts here, simply to encourage you to do the same.

Week 2 covers 5 Benefits that God plans for His children.

Day 1 – To Know and Believe God – The thing God dealt with most on this day was our relationship. I’ve spent years trying to get to know God better. And I do know HIm more than I use to – but I still try and work a one-sided relationship with Him. Those of you that know me, already know this about me. I can talk about myself easily. I am not afraid for people to know me. I have to work at taking time to know others though. And I have that same issue with God. I am great at dreaming up stuff I want to do and see happen. but a relationship takes both members dreaming and sharing and I have to make sure I am listening to God’s ideas as much as sharing with Him my own.

Day 2 – To Glorify God Does my reflect God’s Glory? yeah. That was the question I faced on Day 2. Captivity is the areas of life where God is not recognizable. So that made it pretty simple. I spent a long determining the areas of my life other people can’t recognize God in. And gave those to God, asking Him to better use me to glorify Him.

Day 3 - To Find Satisfaction in God I could just camp here on this one day for a year or more! Oh how I constantly look for satisfaction in everything else but God. And were talking about the richest of chocolate cake satisfaction. To where you can’t eat another bite! Do I get that kind of satisfaction from God? Most currently it is in the process of getting my books published. On this day I had a meeting scheduled with a new publisher. I prayed so hard for a book deal. The meeting went well and I set out to prove myself worthy of everything the publisher asked. I worked day and night telling myself that I would remain satisfied in Jesus alone if the book deal didn’t some. I kept hoping and praying and yesterday. The day before this writing this blog, I got the rejected letter. Disappointment set in, and fast.  I knew I was relying  once again on that for satisfaction. Now I am back on my knees asking for this benefit again.

Day 4 -  To experience God’s Peace This lesson showed me how I have peace over the big issues in life , because I have no choice but to give those over to God. The other issues that I struggle with. I do so because I haven’t totally given those issues to God. I still think there is something about them that I need to do or fix. And that robs me of the peace I could have them. I also love how God uses a river to illustrate peace. I’ve always though of a smooth lake or pond as peaceful. But to God. peace is like a river. It is moving and flowing from a source. The source is God himself. Our life can twist and turn move fast and slow and the whole time remain peaceful.

Day 5 – To Enjoy God’s Presence God wanted me to know on this day that our relationship needs to be a lot more than just what He does for me and what I can be doing for Him. He just wants me to enjoy being with Him and knowing Him. the stuff can hinder God from being all He wants to be in my life. Just like stuff can hinder your relationship with your husband and children. God isn’t going to allow “stuff” to come between us. The real question is, What “stuff” am I allowing to come between the pure joy of a relationship with Him.

If you are doing this Bible study or have done it, I encourage you to share your thoughts below. If you haven’t – I recommend you do.

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To read my thoughts on week one - click here

Breaking Free

by Beth Moore

I began this journey with several wonderful Godly woman at my church. Today we end the first week of the 10 week study. The following is what I gained and how I’ve grown. I’m posting my thoughts here, simply to encourage you to do the same.

Week 1 is called Untying the Cords of the Yoke. Each day we studied a different King.

Day 1 – was King Uzziah. – For me this day was God dealing with Pride. I saw how many of my problems are rooted in my own pride. Our pride interferes with who God is and stops Him form working in and through us. This was a very convicting day. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go on untying  – but I did . . .

Day 2 was King Jotham. This day was a lot about having and loosing a hero in your life. I thought about my mom. She died when I was only 19 and she still remains my biggest hero. I also thought a lot about how my life has consisted of “hero-jobs” and not just “hero-people”.  I’ve had jobs and careers in my life where I’ve used them to become my own hero. More than once, God has removed them so that I will remember to put Him in that place. I was reminded of the many times God changed my focus back to Him.

Day 3 was King Ahaz. This guy was bad news and I really hate to say I identify with him at all. I found it interesting that he was trapped by the very thing his father failed to remove. (”The high places”) It made me wonder if I was failing to remove anything from life that could one day cause my daughters to stumble in their faith.  As a leader of any kind our responsibility is so great!

Day 4 was King Hezekiah. Here comes pride again. – King Hezekiah started out doing the right stuff. I love how Beth Moore said that “Sometimes faith is the absence of fear. Other times faith may be choosing to believe God even when your heart is melting with fear.” King Hezekiah thought he was going to die and God agreed to extend his life. Unfortunately, his pride returned.  The question for me today was am I more afraid of humility or of pride? No one wants to be humbled. However, after reading this lesson I realized pride is so much more costly.

Day 5 was King Jesus. This is what it all comes down too. Our freedom is only available through Christ. On this day we are asked to evaluate what has kept us in bondage so that we are not free enough to live the abundant life God has for us. For me, I’ve had many – but the one that stood oust is my lack of patience and need to be in control. God has brought me through so many situations where I have had to remain patient and give control over to Him. It is an ongoing battle for me , but one that I am winning and continuing to break free from.

If you are doing this Bible study or have done it, I encourage you to share your thoughts below. If you haven’t – I recommend you do.

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